Admissions Policy – 2019/20

Moor Park High School and Sixth Form is a Foundation School which welcomes all pupils from areas of , Lea and the surrounding area. This policy applies to admission procedures for 104 places available in Year 7 in 2019.

Please note that you do not need to live in the ‘catchment’ area in order to gain a place at Moor Park.

Our Admission Policy has been revised in response to the schools increasing popularity and to ensure places are available for those pupils who wish to attend but do not live within close proximity to the school.

Section 1; Introduction:

Moor Park High School and Sixth Form is an 11 to 18 Foundation School. Our mission statement is to provide excellent opportunities in an open, positive and purposeful climate for all our pupils to achieve their academic and personal potential, become life long learners and responsible, enterprising citizens.

Moor Park High School and Sixth Form is committed to gender equality, disability awareness and race equality in accordance with current legislation.

Expectations:

Moor Park High School and Sixth Form welcomes applications from parents who support our ethos. All parents and pupils of the school are required to sign a ‘Home – School Agreement’ (this is available to read through the school website; www.moorpark.mp) and are expected to fully support the school’s Aims and Values.

1 Pupils will need to be committed to the School’s approach, including the emphasis on participation in enrichment activities after school. We expect pupils to have the support of parents or carers who are also committed to the School’s approach and we would expect them to take a keen interest in their child’s learning, progress and development at the School.

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Section 2; Process of application:

Applications for places at Moor Park will be made in accordance with the Local Education Authority, (LEA), co-ordinated admission arrangements and will be made on the common application form provided and administered by the LEA.

To apply for entry in September 2019 you should complete the on-line Local Authority Common Application Form by 31 October 2018 which can be found at: http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/children-education-families/schools/apply-for-a- school-place/apply-for-a-secondary-school-place

With regards to an application for a pupil with special medical or social circumstances, written evidence from an appropriate professional, such as a doctor, psychologist or social worker is required for the governors to consider medical, rsocial or welfare reasons for admission. This should accompany the application form. Please note: only exceptional reasons associated with the child/or family and relating to the suitability of the school, are normally accepted in this criterion, for example, where these needs can only be met at this school.

Next Steps:

1 Visit Moor Park on the Open Evening and at other times during the year when further opportunities for parents/carers to visit the school are available (details are on the website www.moorpark.mp) or by picking up a leaflet in your child’s . 2 Complete the Local Authority Common Application Form naming Moor Park High School and Sixth Form as one of the school preferences for your child, (see Section 5; Allocation of Places below).

Moor Park will use the following timetable for applications each year (exact dates within the months may vary from year to year), which, whenever possible, will fit in with the common timetable agreed by County Council Admissions Forum.

a) March – Moor Park will publish on the school website, (www.moorpark.mp) information about the arrangements for admission, including oversubscription criteria for the following June. This will include details of open evenings and any other opportunities for parents to visit the school. b) Moor Park will also provide information to Lancashire County Council for inclusion in the composite prospectus, as required. c) September to end of October - Moor Park will provide opportunities for parents to visit the school. d) October – Parents /Carers complete the LEA on-line common application form. Closing date – 31 October 2018. e) Lancashire County Council sends all applications to Moor Park. f) Moor Park provides list of pupils to be offered places to the LEA. g) Lancashire County Council applies agreed scheme for its own schools, informing other local authorities of offers to be made to their residents. h) March – offers made to parents by the LEA – 1 March 2019.

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Further information on how to apply on-line is provided in the Local Authority’s Composite Prospectus titled, ‘ Admissions in Lancashire’ or via the Local Authority Website.

Section 3; Consideration of Applications:

Moor Park will consider all applications for places. Where fewer than 104 applications are received, Moor Park will offer places to all those who have applied.

Section 4; Procedures where Moor Park High School and Sixth Form is oversubscribed:

Moor Park will seek to recruit a cohort of pupils from Preston, Lea and the surrounding area. Where Moor Park receives more applications for places than there are places available, we will offer places according to oversubscription criteria below and inform the LEA. The following criteria will be applied in number order.

1. Looked After Children and Previously Looked After Children, (the following definition of ‘looked after child’ which comes from the Children Act 1989, s22 applies; which is a child who is (a) in the care of a Local Authority or (b) being provided with accommodation by a Local Authority in exercise of their social services functions. A ‘previously looked after child’ is one who previously fulfilled the definition of ‘looked after’ but ceased to do so because they were adopted or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order.

2. Children for whom, in the opinion of professional experts, there are exceptionally strong medical, social or welfare reasons for admission associated with the child and/or family which are directly relevant to the School, (see ‘ Process of Application above). This may include some non- statemented pupils who have special educational needs. Pupils who have a statement for special educational needs which names a particular school have priority for admission and count against the number of places available.

3. Pupils who will have a sibling in attendance at Moor Park in years 7 to 11 at the time of admission. The term ’sibling’ includes brother and sisters, stepchildren, half brothers and sisters and adopted and foster children who are living with the same family at the same address. 4. Thereafter the remaining places will be allocated as follows:- a. 30% of the remaining places to those applicants who live nearest to the school (The measurement used will be taken in a straight line from the centre point of the residence to the centre point of Moor Park using the Moor Park geographical information system). b. 70% of the remaining places will be randomly allocated using computer software.

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Please note: In the event that the percentage calculation applied under a) and b) results in numbers which do not correspond to a whole number of places, then the spare place will be allocated to those available under 4a.

Section 5; Allocation of Places:

As soon as the LEA receives the list of applicants allocated a place in Moor Park they consider if more than one secondary school place could be offered to each of the successful applicants. In this case, reference to the parents’ order of priority on their application form is made and priority is always given to parents’ first preference; the preference being the tie-breaker.

Parents of children not allocated a place will be informed of the reason and offered an alternative place by the LEA.

Section 6; Operation of waiting lists:

Subject to any provisions regarding waiting lists in the Lancashire County Council coordinated admission scheme, Moor Park will operate a waiting list. Where in any year Moor Park receives more applications than places available, a waiting list will operate for the first term of the academic year after the admission date. After this period the school will not operate a waiting list.

The names on this waiting list will be in the order resulting from the application of the admissions criteria (4b). Since the date of application cannot be a criterion for the order of names on the waiting list, late applicants for the school will be slotted into the order according to the extent to which they meet the criteria. If a place becomes available within the admission number, the child whose name is at the top of the list will be offered a place. This is not dependent on whether an appeal has been submitted.

Section 7; Late applications for admission:

Where there are extenuating circumstances* for an application being received after the last date for applications, and it is received before the governors have established their list of pupils to be offered a place, then the application will be considered alongside all the others. Otherwise, applications which are received after the last date, will be considered after all the others, and placed on the waiting list in order according to the oversubscription criteria.

* extenuating circumstances may include parent(s)/carer(s) moving into the area after the closing date, or their illness requiring hospitalisation during the application period, or who were abroad during the whole application period.

Section 8; Arrangements for Appeals:

Where the governors are unable to offer a place because the school is over subscribed, parents/carers will have the right to appeal to an independent admission appeal panel. The arrangements for appeals will be in line with the Code of Practice

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on School Admissions published by the Department for Education as it applies to Foundation Schools. The decision of the appeal panel will be made in accordance with the Code of Practice for School Admission Appeals and is binding on all parties.

The School has prepared guidance for parents about how the appeals process will work and a named contact (Admissions Secretary) who can answer any enquires parents may have about the process. Parents can telephone the school directly for further guidance, (01772 795428).

All appeals must be submitted using the correct appeals form. This is available from the school office or can be downloaded from the school website, www.moorpark.mp. All appeals forms must be returned to the School.

Parents should notify the school in writing within 14 days of receiving the letter refusing a place.

Address of pupil:

The address used on the school’s admission form must be the current one at the time of application, i.e. the family’s main residence. If the address changes subsequently, the parents should notify the school. Where the parents live at different addresses, and there is shared parenting, the address used will normally be the one where the child wakes up for the majority of Monday to Friday mornings. If there is any doubt about this, then the address of the Child Benefit recipient will be used. Parents may be asked to show evidence of the claim that is being made for the address, e.g. identity cards of various sorts showing the child’s address as the one claimed. Where there is dispute about the correct address to use, the governors reserve the right to make enquiries of any relevant third parties, e.g. the child’s GP, Council Tax Office, Electoral Registration Officer, utilities provider. For children of UK Service personnel and other Crown Servants returning to the area proof of the posting is all that is required.

This policy has been developed with regard to the School’s Foundation Status and all current/relevant legislation. It will be reviewed annually to ensure it responds to local community and school priorities as well as new legislation.

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